AVONDALE, Ariz. – Sam Hornish Jr. will get one more opportunity to score his sixth career NASCAR XFINITY Series win as he’ll pilot the No. 22 Team Penske Ford in next Saturday afternoon’s Ford EcoBoost 300 season finale at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
Motorsport.com first reported the news.
Team Penske is in the heart of eyeing it’s fourth series owner’s championship for team owner Roger Penske with five different drivers in 2017.
In addition to Hornish, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series powerhouses Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have wheeled the car, while NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship 4 contender Austin Cindric also made his XFINITY Series debut at Road America.
Keselowski and Logano are not eligible to compete in the 33rd XFINITY Series race of the season since they have declared Cup points for competition.
Heading into Saturday afternoon’s Ticket Galaxy 200 at Phoenix Raceway, the No. 22 Ford team currently leads the series by seven points over the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team.
Following the penultimate XFINITY Series race of the season, the top four cars in the owner’s standings are eligible for the title in Miami.
Hornish, the three-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion will make his sixth start of the season at Homestead, his first outing since Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August, a race he won.
The Defiance, Ohio native has six previous starts at Homestead, including three straight top-10 finishes from 2011 – 2013. He finished eighth after winning the pole and leading 37 laps in 2013.
Team Penske has won XFINITY Series owner’s title on three previous occasions in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
